


Work and Time

by pixely



Series: Stardew Oneshot [2]
Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-12 05:03:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18004313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pixely/pseuds/pixely
Summary: Shane gets invited over for dinner again. She loves to cook for him. Can she hope for progress? Oneshot.





	Work and Time

The cool, evening breeze blew in through the windows. Amelia noticed the setting sun, marveling the orange clouds. As she fought the fluttering curtains she shut the window. She then washed her hands and dried them on the towel hanging from her oven. She scanned the dinner table one last time. Everything was in place and ready.

She leaned on the counter. It’s been some time since she inherited her Grandfather’s beloved farm. Adjusting to this lifestyle wasn’t a walk in the park (farm), but she didn’t hate it at all. She couldn’t move back to the city after experiencing life on the farm.

Not only did she enjoy farm-life, she was lucky to have a wonderful community here. But, there was one person that stood out to her the most.

Shane.

But, with all that he’s been through, she wouldn’t burden him. Relationships take a lot of work and time. He was using that time to work on himself. She was content on just spending time with him, as friends, for now…

A rap at the door interrupted her trance. She tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach. He’s been over so many times, and she’s still nervous every time. She sprung to her feet, took a deep breath then opened the door.

“Hey,” he gave her a warm smile.

He stood with his hands in his signature worn out jacket. He wore the same style he usually does, casual and comfy.

“Hi,” she smiled back, leaning into the door, wishing she could mess up that dark hair of his. Composing herself, she stepped back to let him in.

“Wow,” he mouthed as he stepped in. His eyes landed straight on the table. “That looks amazing.”

“I may have went overboard,” she laughed nervously following him to the table. She picked up a fork, poked a pepper popper and turned to Shane.

“Here,” she raised the fork up to him. “Careful, it’s hot.”

She thought she was going to hand him the fork. She wasn’t expecting for Shane to hold her hand steady as he bit it off the fork.

Her cheeks burned in a good way. Is this the way friends are meant to be? Maybe she’s wrongly hoping that it was just something more.

“That’s really good,” he said as he finished.

She smiled, and pushed aside her feelings. She wanted to focus on Shane having a good time.

“That’s a relief,” she pulled out a chair for him, “I need your help to finish it all.”

-

“Thanks, again,” he said as he put down his fork.

She smiled, “I’m surprised there’s nothing leftover. You really did smash it all.”

He shrugged, “Everything was delicious. Couldn’t help it.” 

She laughed, flattered by the compliments.

“Let me help clean up. It’s the least I can do.”

Shane got up and started to clear the dishes. He went to grab a plate at the same time Amelia did. Their hands touched briefly but Shane immediately let go of the dish and it clattered onto the table. Amelia pushed her feelings of rejection aside and powered on stacking plates.

“Don’t worry about it,” she replied to his apology. She smiled seemingly sincerely walking over to the sink with her stack of plates.

She turned on the tap and poured a dab of detergent on the sponge. Behind her she heard Shane stacking the rest of the plates. She tried really hard to not think about anything and suppress her emotions. Her mind betrayed her and wondered back to the time when Emily was having her Clothing Therapy session.

Emily had help Shane put on his outfit and he let her touch him so effortlessly. She remembered being envious of Emily’s friendship with Shane as Emily buttoned his shirt. Amelia had been busy helping Abigail get into her armor, not that she minded Abigail. She couldn’t help notice the interactions between Shane and Emily. He even had his hair done by Emily.

She felt a lump in her throat as rejection washed over her. She cleared her throat and quietly took a deep breath.

“Shane, I’ve got this, so you can leave if you’d like.”

“You know I always stay until it’s all cleaned up,” he said with a light tone.

Amelia’s heart raced as she didn’t want Shane to see her tearing up. Then she had an idea and raised her hand to wipe her eye.

“Ow.”

“What’s wrong?” Shane hurried over her.

“It’s nothing. Just soap in my eye,” she replied as she reached blindly for a towel.

Shane strode over, grabbing a paper towel on the way. He wet it with warm water and turned around to hand it to her.

“You go to the bathroom and wash it out. I’ll finish up in here,” he rolled up his sleeves and started doing the dishes.

Amelia stared at Shane’s back, wishing she could hug him. But she suppressed her urged and went to the bathroom.

When she emerged Shane was lounging on the couch. As he noticed her he put away his phone in his pocket and leaned on the armrest.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she said as she took a seat on the other end of the couch. She looked back into the kitchen and scanned the sink. “Thanks for finishing up.”

“Thanks for dinner.” He angled his body towards her. “It was really good. As usual,” he smiled. But it was gone in a flash.

Amelia noticed Shane suddenly stiffened. His brows suddenly furrowed and his mood had shifted. She traced back the events of tonight and wondered if she had done anything to make him uncomfortable. She was racking her brain but her thoughts were interrupted.

“Listen…” Shane began, “About earlier… with the plate…”

“Plate?” Amelia realised he was talking about the one that dropped… after they touched. “Oh, don’t worry about it. The plate is fine,” she reassured.

His eyebrows were still furrowed.

She wondered if their touch bothered him a lot. Compared to how Emily touched him, it was minuscule!  
Amelia was now convinced he was going to stop coming over and stop hanging out with her. She was afraid it was time to end it and time for her to move on from Shane if he didn’t feel the same way.

Leaning on her shoulder she pressed into the couch, making herself comfortable. Mentally she prepared for the rejection but her expression was soft and her eyes were on him. She smiled at him, trying to let him know to not to worry about the plate… or their touch.

“No, not about the plate…” Shane fell back into the couch his head tilted back, “about, um… when our hands…”

He didn’t finish his sentence before Amelia exclaimed, “You worry too much! I’m not bothered by it,” She laughed trying to play it cool. “But, sorry if it made you uncomfortable… I’ll be more mindful next time.” She bit her lip nervously.

She pondered that if Shane were to have feelings for her, wouldn’t he have done something in the past couple years? Clearly nothing has happened, and clearly that means Shane only had platonic feelings. Mentally kicking herself, she now realised everything she had done to be closer to him were all in vain.

“But you were upset… weren’t you? At my reaction,” Shane said flatly.

Damn, Shane, and his intuition. One of the reasons she fell for him. He knew just how people were feeling. She should’ve guessed he figured it out. He was hypersensitive to how people were feeling around him especially when it came to his actions.

“Oh, um… it’s no big deal,” she said as she waved her hands if front of her. “I just thought that I had made you uncomfortable… since you and Emily...” she hesitated, then quickly said, “You didn’t mind Emily touching you at the Clothing Therapy session. I mean, I get it. You’ve known her longer. Since you spend time at the bar, you’ve spent more time with her so you’re more comfortable with her. I understand that you’re not as comfortable with me as you are with her.” 

She looked down at her hands stretched out on her lap. “I completely understand,” she repeated.

“That wasn’t why…” He paused, then softly said, “It’s not that I’m uncomfortable around you… it’s because… I’m…” He took a deep breath, “I’m just more conscious around you.” 

Shane hand rubbed his jaw as if he didn’t mean to say it out loud. His other hand was on his knee in a tight fist.

Amelia noticed the blush spreading across his face and his ears. Suddenly her dejection turned into… hope.

She plopped next to him, them she placed her hand on his fist. She looked up to gauge his reaction. He stared at their hands then looked at her questioningly.

She opened her mouth and closed it again. Worried whatever she said now could make or break it. But she had to let him know how she felt. It’s about time. But her mind was scattered, and she fumbled at what to say.

Shane looked at her, waiting for her words. Then she felt Shane’s hand move from being under her hand to holding it. And he gave her hand a squeeze, to encourage her to say whatever she was thinking. She smiled at their hands, then finally faced him.

“I’ve been in love with you all this time,” her heart raced as the words were said out loud for the first time. She could have said it a different way, but it was too late now. She had to be honest with him. Racking her brain to figure out what to say next. What do people usually say after this? This silence was deafening. Think, brain, think!

“How can you be?” Shane broke the silence and looked away. He was staring off into the void contemplating her words. “I’m just a deadbeat loser.”

She tried to meet his gaze, but he wouldn’t look at her. Maybe this was his way of letting her down easy. But then she noticed their hands. How he was holding her hand tightly. He must be doing it unconsciously. And, that’s when she realized it.

All this time, he just lacked the confidence - in everything. Especially in himself. He didn’t believe he could amount to anything, so he just didn’t try. Not with the way life was going for him. So, he didn’t resist anymore, and spent his days wasting away drowning in beer.

“You love spicy food,” she started, looking down at their hands.

Shane was confused by her statement. Turning to look at her, he waited for her to elaborate.

“At all the festivals, you’re always at the food table, testing out the most spicy things,” she smiled fondly, reminiscing at when they were at the Luau. She went up to him and he mentioned that it wasn’t possible to find ‘hot pepper chutney like this in the big city’.

“You also are very attentive to Jas, and worrying if she’s growing up well.” She wondered if he noticed how much he talks about Jas. Wishing her the childhood he never had, or giving her enough support and guidance in place of her parents. And how it was a challenge to give her all that she deserved.

She was fidgeting and rubbing her thumbs across his hand. She hoped he didn’t mind. 

“You worry about if you’re a bother to people and just figure that you’re better off out of their way. But…” She looked straight up at him now, “You also don’t realize that there are people who want to spend time with you because they actually enjoy your company.”

He was stunned. He didn’t respond. Nevertheless, she continued.

“Actually, I didn't want to burden you with my feelings. I know you’re going through a lot. But that day at the cliff... I thought you weren’t going to make it. I just-- my feelings became stronger, but you were going through therapy and I didn’t want to force anything. Or impose on your progress,” her eyes cast downward.

She felt his fingers on her chin and lifted it up. 

“You are never a burden to me,” he said as his eyes captivated her. He meant it.

Staring into his eyes and noticing how blue they were, but around his pupils were green. She wondered how she was still learning about him. But he was usually looking down or avoiding eye contact - or people, really.

She confessed, “You… have no idea, how you make me feel. You're the only one who makes me feel this way.” 

His hand moved and she felt the roughness of his fingers across her cheek. Then found a strand of her hair and combed his fingers through. A tingling wave washed through her body.

“I…” he hesitated as he furrowed his brows. The was a note of sadness in his expression.

“It’s okay. You don't have to force yourself to say anything. I just wanted to let you know how I feel. All you need to do…” Her hand interlaced with his and she pulled it away from her hair, “if you don't feel the same way… is just reject me.”

With their hands still interlaced and a sudden forcefulness, he pushed her back on the couch. She let out a little gasp as she fell back. His body hovered over hers. She quietly admitted to herself how much she liked this position. In contrast, he was grimacing. 

“It’s not that I don’t feel the same,” he started, “I do… feel the same…”

Her heart could feel like it could burst. And it was beating rapidly.

“I don’t want to screw this up,” he leaned down slightly. Then said, barely above a whisper, “You mean so much to me.”

She raised her hand to his cheek. She felt the prickle of his stubble; she always wondered how it felt.

“Shane…” She broke eye contact and her eyes couldn’t help but move to his lips, “...kiss me.”

Not missing a beat, Shane closed the gap between them.

There’s still a whole lot of things to be worked out - but there is also a whole lot of time.


End file.
